Lenovo backs away from RIM acquisition suggestions

Lenovo CFO Wong Wai Ming was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that his company is exploring acquisition options, including potential target Research in Motion; however, the company now says there's not quite as much to the story as some believe.

A Lenovo spokesperson told TheNextWeb that people are looking too deeply into Wong's comments, which were in relation to a question posed by the media. The company issued the following statement:

In general, we do not comment on M&A rumors or speculation. We are aware that Lenovo's CFO [Wong] Waiming was speaking broadly about M&A strategy in a recent interview. RIM was raised as a potential target by the journalist and Mr. Wong repeatedly answered in a manner consistent with all of our previous statements on M&A strategy: Lenovo is very focused on growing its business, both organically and through M&A. When inorganic ideas arise, we explore them to see if there is a strategic fit.

Lenovo insists that RIM is just a company that it would consider buying, not that it is actively pursuing purchasing the company. At the moment, Lenovo's mobile efforts are limited to its Android smartphones and tablets, but that could change if it later decides to more seriously consider acquiring another company.

Since it's smartphone market share and stock price have declined in recent years, tech pundits and stock analysts have suggested that RIM's future may be in licensing its software or being acquired by another company. CEO Thorsten Heins said both are a possibility, but only if RIM manages to successfully launch BlackBerry 10 and prove the operating system is viable in a market dominated by Apple and Google. RIM will begin that odyssey January 30 when it unveils BlackBerry 10.